Choices
by tokiwashojo
Summary: Months after the Shaman Fight was postponed due to the incident with Hao, a notice is sent to all shamans. The Shaman Fight will continue at last. But this time around, Hao comes to Yoh, with a new request. HaoxYoh, YohxAnna, MarcoxLyzerg


**Prologue**

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Disclaimer – none of the characters or anything about Shaman King belong to me. The plot is mine though :p

(an – the scene in this prologue is similar to that of the epilogue. Enjoy the fic )

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Did Hao really obtain the Great Spirits?

Did everything really happen a few months ago?

Was everything real?

Was Hao really defeated?

Manta shook these thoughts from his head as he walked through the dimly lit path. He checked his wristwatch, it was a few minutes past 7:30 pm. Cram school has just ended and he was on his way to the Yoh's place, since he did promise him that he would drop by for dinner.

It was already a few months since Manta accompanied his friend's fiancé to America. And yet, the memories of the fights which occurred there were still very fresh in his mind. Not being able to do anything and simply watching from the sides were the only things he could do for most of the battles that his friends were involved in. That was until he gathered the courage to try what his shaman friends did with ease. Oversoul.

Manta sighed again, clenching his fist. Doing Oversoul felt really great, but it was very tiring. And, why was he remembering all these things at this moment? Maybe he really was that hungry and maybe tired from pulling up another all-nighter because of his exams earlier that day.

But what was it that Yoh kun told him earlier that afternoon before he went to cram school? "I feel that something good will happen tonight..." or something like that. Manta smiled. Yoh was a shaman, and that intuition of his was different from that of an ordinary person. Maybe something good really will happen. Who knows? Almost anything could be possible whenever shamans were involved.

Manta didn't know how long it took for him to go through the familiar path to the house of his friend. It didn't matter either. He went up the front door and knocked on the wooden door.

A few seconds passed, and as expected the doors were opened by a very familiar face. Faust VIII. "You're here early Manta kun," Faust greeted him with a genuine smile on his face.

"Cram school ended a little early today," Manta replied, a similarly genuine smile also on his lips. It took a while for his trauma with Faust to fade completely. But it did eventually. And with the trauma completely out of his system, Manta began seeing Faust in a new light, which resulted in the two becoming friends in such a short period of time.

"Ah...Anna san and the Yoh kun are waiting inside," Faust said as he and Manta made their way through the garden and into the house. "Ren-kun is inside as well."

"Ren!" Manta could not suppress his surprise. Although Ren was one of the greatest rivals, if not the number one rival of Yoh, and was one of his strongest opponents in the past, he was also one of his most dependable friends. He had struck fear in Manta the first time they had met, but this time around, Manta felt really safe around the Chinese shaman. "Wow...so he came all the way from China huh?" Manta turned to look at Faust and continued, "Faust san, where is Eliza san by the way?"

"Eliza? Oh she is up on the roof...I was singing some songs for her as we stare at the night sky."

"How romantic," Manta said. "Go on and join her Faust san, sorry for having to trouble you with my arrival."

"But Manta kun..."

Manta nudged Faust in the direction opposite the house. "I've been here too many times to get lost inside this house Faust san. Go to your beloved Eliza san."

Faust VIII smiled again. "Thank you Manta kun." And with that, he ran off in the opposite direction, probably finding his way to the roof of the house. Manta didn't know if there was a way to get up on the roof without going to the second floor of the house. But it didn't matter. If Faust got up there the first time around, he would be able to the second time around.

With Faust gone to go to where his Eliza was, Manta took the liberty to enter the house and proceeded to the kitchen. And as he entered, he was greeted by a very strange sight.

And it wasn't because Ren was there, sitting down like a good boy. It was Anna...COOKING. And that was enough to freeze Manta on the spot.

Yoh was the first person to spot him and he greeted Manta with the same lazy smile on his lips. "Yo Manta, you're just in time for dinner."

Ren and Anna turned to look at Manta, and merely nodded as a greeting.

"Good evening everyone," Manta greeted as he allowed Yoh to pull him inside.

"See? I told you something good was going to happen tonight," Yoh told Manta proudly. "Ren here came over from China because Jun san sent us these wonderful dried abalone. Anna's cooking them for dinner..."

"That's only because I don't want you to ruin these expensive gifts Yoh," Anna interrupted from her position near the stove.

"That stupid sister of mine should have just mailed them over..." Ren grumbled.

"Ah...but you came over here already, so it's okay," Yoh said as he slung an arm over the other shaman and smiled his usual smile.

Manta smiled, this scene was something he missed. In fact he missed the other shamans as well. Everyone, Hoho Horo, Lyzerg, Chocolove, Ryu, and the other people they had met on their journey. He missed every single one of them.

But it couldn't be helped, after the postponement of the Shaman Fight, everyone went back to living their separate and normal lives.

Ren's voice brought Manta back from his thoughts however. It seemed he was bickering with Yoh because of what the latter had lazily commented on. Wait a minute...Ren was here...but where was Bason? Come to think of it, Amidamaru wasn't here either...

"Yoh kun, where are Amidamaru san and Bason san?"

Yoh ignored Ren's comment and turned to Manta. "Those two? I think they went off to Amidamaru's grave to drink sake or something."

"Drink sake? I thought spirits couldn't consume anything anymore..."

"Saa," Yoh replied with his usual smile and a shrug.

Manta smiled. This was the Yoh he knew, and the Yoh he and the others became friends with. It was this carefree and lenient attitude that drew people towards him, it was a radiant light that seemed to pull others towards him. He shook his head, Yoh would always be Yoh.

He pulled out his laptop and opened it. "Mosuke san," he called out, and almost immediately the spirit within his laptop appeared in the monitor.

"Yes?"

"It seems that Amidamaru san and Bason san are drinking sake near Amidamaru san's grave. Go join them."

The face of the spirit brightened up and he exited the computer. "Thanks for telling me Manta," he said before he passed through the kitchen walls.

With Mosuke gone, Manta closed his laptop and kept it within his bag. But before he was able to say anything, the extension phone in the kitchen rang. And after being on the receiving end of Anna's glare, Manta stood up to get it.

He picked up the phone on the 3rd ring. "Hello? Asakura residence...Ah Mikihisa san!...Yoh kun? Hai, he's here. I'll call him." Manta turned to Yoh and said, "Yoh kun, your father's on the phone."

Yoh stood up and got the phone from Manta. "Ah...dad. What is it?"

And Manta, as well as the other occupants of the room, would have had the chance to listen in on the father and son conversation. But that chance was deprived of them when they heard a very familiar ringing sound. And it wasn't the sound of a phone ringing.

Manta and Anna turned to Ren, who seemed to be the source of the ringing. Yoh, didn't notice it though since he was only focusing his attention on his conversation with his dad.

"Ren san...that was..."

Ren turned to Manta and nodded. Anna just stared at him, silent as the shaman pulled his sleeve up to reveal the Oracle Bell still attached to his arm. And it was blinking with a yellow light...which only meant...

Ren pressed a button on the device and read the message out loud. "We apologize for the postponement of the Shaman Fight due to unforeseen circumstances. But we are glad to inform everyone that it will be resumed. Due to the interruptions in the tournament the last time, we will hold the preliminary qualification matches again two months from today. A priest will inform you of the match when the time comes. We hope to see you soon."

"They're resuming the Shaman Fight..." Manta said softly.

"It seems that way," Ren agreed. He turned to Yoh, who had already put the phone down earlier. "Asakura Yoh, this time, we will get to see who really is stronger between the two of us!"

"Sure, I look forward to it Ren," Yoh replied, smiling at his friend.

"Look forward to training with me as well, you couldn't have forgotten your promise to give me an easy life, have you?"

Yoh turned to Anna and smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Ah...I haven't forgotten. But Anna, I don't think I can undergo your training for a while."

"Running away?"

Yoh held up his hands and shook his head. "As much as I fear your training, I'm not. It's time for the purification ritual."

"So that's why your father called."

Yoh nodded. "Gomen ne, the most it'll take is a month, so wait for me till then."

Manta watched the conversations before him take place. It was starting again huh? The Shaman Fight. Even though he wasn't a shaman, and wouldn't be taking part in the matches, he couldn't help but feel excited.

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"Ne Manta, I'm sorry that you had to get dragged into this..."

Manta turned to Yoh and smiled. "Don't worry about it Yoh kun," Manta said as both he and Yoh entered the Asakura main house. "Anna san couldn't come, and I volunteered to come with you so it's okay."

Yoh just replied with another smile, and the two friends, along with Amidamaru, walked through the halls and rooms of the main house towards the room they will share. They had met Yoh's father and grandparents as soon as they had arrived in the compound. But they informed them that the ceremony would not be performed at such an early date.

They didn't say all the details since Yoh seemed to perfectly understand what they were saying. And so, Manta didn't ask for more explanations.

It was already night time, about 10:00 pm, and the Asakura's probably wanted both boys to rest after the trip. Whatever the ritual that Mikihisa and Yoh talked about over the phone, would have to wait till tomorrow, at least in Manta's sake.

"Manta, would you like to go and try out the onsen?"

Manta, who was in the middle of unpacking, stopped and turned to Yoh. "You have an onsen here?"

"Sure," Yoh replied with a smile. "It's pretty big compared to the one at home, and is really refreshing. Would you like to try it out?"

Manta nodded.

"It's just straight down this hallway," Yoh said. "I'll go ahead?"

"Sure," Manta replied. "I'll be right behind you. I'll just finish unpacking my stuff."

Yoh smiled again. "Ok then." He turned around and headed for the door, but before he could even get to open it, the door opened, and someone collapsed on him.

But it wasn't before Yoh caught a glimpse of the person who used his body as a cushion.

"Asakura...Hao..."

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A/N :

Well, my first try at a Shaman King fic. Hope that it didn't suck . Comments and R&R's are very welcome, esp constructive criticisms

The more the reviews, the faster the next chap will come out :p so review review hehe


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